Contrast: the word is insufficient when describing the weather of the 2011 growing season.

In fact, spring was more like summer, announcing this vintage to be one of the more precocious in memory. Budding, flowering, fruit set, everything was going perfectly. The vines were healthy, no trace of mildew or powdery mildew… up until July 7th when everything changed !

Cloudy, frequent and sometimes abundant rain, mild temperatures…

In short, all the ingredients necessary for botrytis and other mildew to return in force. August was hardly more joyful; though the grapes did ripen, we could see that the process was rather heterogeneous from cluster to cluster and even grape to grape. We began harvest on August 30th; any botrytis was carefully eliminated and the grapes that made it into our tanks were of beautiful quality. Early analysis of the grapes harvested showed both a modest amount of sugar (associated with cold years) but also a low level of acidity (associated with warm years).

In the end, during the winemaking process, the acidity increased. Malos were early, from the end of autumn until the end of January. Barrel aging confirmd the true personality of the 2011 vintage. Initially seductive and full on the palate, the wines began to show a chiseled, structured finish with a lovely length.